Top 5 Worst Draft Mistakes In Washington Wizards History

Landing a gem in the NBA Draft isn’t as easy as it may sound, as even though there are always hundreds of hours of prospects footage from high school, college or even overseas, some never seem to shake off their roughness and develop as top-notch talents.

So, even if you have one of the highest picks in the lottery, that doesn’t exactly guarantee you success come Draft night, and over the course of history, some franchises have been particularly bad on this matter, something that may explain why they struggle so badly to contend on a yearly basis.

The Washington Wizards, for instance, have been a franchise that has historically had a very bad time when it comes to Championships, and some of that struggles are definitely because of the way they draft.

Of course, landing John Wall and Bradley Beal were huge moves by the team’s front office, but what if we told you that they could’ve built a much more solid squad via draft over the last decade? Sit down and enjoy while we let you know about the top 5 Draft mistakes by the Washington Wizards of the last 10 years.

5. Rasheed Wallace (1995 NBA Draft)

Even though Rasheed Wallace was one of the fiercest and toughest competitors this league has ever seen, going up as high as 4th as he did in the Draft seems kind of high for a guy that was extremely productive but didn’t spend his prime with the franchise.

On the other hand, what really makes this selection a mistake is the fact that the Washington Wizards could’ve done a lot better that night if they would’ve drafted the guy that went just after him, perhaps you remember Kevin Garnett? Does that name ring a bell?.

4. Tomas Satoransky (2012 NBA Draft)

The Wizards had already drafted Bradley Beal with their 3rd overall pick, a very bold move by a front office that was trying to surround John Wall with more talent. Still, picking Tomas Satoransky with their 2nd rounder was an extremely lousy move by the team’s office.

Satoransky (32nd pick) was yet another example of a guy that couldn’t make a solid adjustment from FIBA ball to the NBA, and after struggling for a full season where he barely saw playing time, the Washington Wizards should be regretting to pass on players like Jae Crowder (34th pick), Draymond Green (35th pick) and Khris Middleton (39th pick).

3. Kwame Brown (2001 NBA Draft)

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

There’s absolutely no doubt that Michael Jordan was the best player to ever set foot on an NBA hardwood, but his performance in the front office has always been far beyond questionable, and Kwame Brown has to be his biggest off court mistake, even bigger than his gambling problems.

But, what makes this move even far more stupid is the fact that Jordan actually passed on guys like Tyson Chandler, Gerald Wallace, Zach Randolph and even Pau Gasol in order to land a tweener big man that never averaged over 21 minutes per game.

2. Kenny Green (1985 NBA Draft)

Way back then when the franchise was called the Washington Bullets, the team’s front office committed a major mistake when they decided to draft Kenny Green with their 12th overall pick, as the Wake Forest product was only able to play in 60 career games and retired with no significant impact whatsoever.

But, what makes this even worse is the fact that they could’ve landed a total franchise changer in Karl Malone, who went just after Kenny Green to the Utah Jazz to form one of the most dominant duos ever with John Stockton.

1. Jan Vesely (2011 NBA Draft)

The Washington Wizards completely wasted their 6th overall pick in Jan Vesely, a tweener big man that’s not even in the league anymore and that couldn’t replicate his success overseas despite having a lot of chance to prove his worth.

Spending just 3 seasons in the Association, Vesely was the 1st of 3 horrible picks by the Wizards that night, also landing Shelvin Mack and Chris Singleton. But, what makes this even more terrible is the fact that they could’ve landed Klay Thompson, Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, or Isaiah Thomas.